2026 Bike Racing Thread ***SPOILERS***

I was thinking of the Danielson and Piccolo type of riders for that. Apologies for not being clear.

Padun was the very damning example and JV talking about his tests seems a bit rich.

Italian end of year race 1 - tomorrow - saturday - emilia. McNutty wearing the stripes!! The finish on that steep hill (8 minutes?) probably means UAE keeps a few dudes protected for the final rip (The Gnar?!) such that McNulty might have to go long for betterest chance (good thing he knows how to do that!!). Prob all Pidcock here but maybe Lenny Mart, Lorenzo Finn, Piganzoli, maybe Widar, Onley can challenge. Dream contrarian picks would be a 3 up break with McNutty, Jorgenson, Crime Dog. Will Remco’s Sunday Euro champs be as good of a race as this? Still buzzing about Montreal (Bahamas for the theme song).

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Little late to the conversation but have to say I think suggestions that IdT helped McNulty win are disingenuous. This is based on the fact they spoke for a moment late in race? And that IdT didn’t chase when he went? For one thing, he’d already done a ton of work and attacked himself 7-8 times. For another, nobody else did either, and as anyone who knows that has raced, the front is worse place to be to cover a move. So by that logic, did vdP also help McNulty by strategically sitting at back and taking a drink at the same moment? What was Pidcock doing, thinking about a post-race poutine?

It was a race of attrition and the US rode it as a team and brilliantly. They deserve credit for that.

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agreed that blaming raging DT for not aggressively chasing is super lame - esp by Matthews - he didn’t ride in the wind the whole race. DT was a much better teammate to Matthews and Piddles than team US by stitching things back together constantly. Everyone in that front group had to know that DT had no good reason to be the first one to chase McNulty from the front (after chasing Jorgo hard and creating a split and drilling long hill only 4-5 minutes earlier). If Pidlles or Bling had chased first AND DT didnt roll through to help - maybe that is more ‘actively’ not chasing, but not chasing a teammate while on the front and having just closed down a huge attack - that’s on anyone else who wanted to win.

It should be DT whining at them - not vice versa. I like Dt more for not complaining - everyone rode against him. good looking last lap at emilia.

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I feel like Davide Piganzoli has been the break out rider of this year. He has been durable and incredibly strong no matter what he has been asked to fulfill. That was a great win today. MattyJo once again was awesome for him.

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No doubt, he has been quite the discovery for Lisa Bike. And MJ looking sharp too— maybe he gets an Italian fall classic this year?

For Lombardia, Jorgenson and Piganzoli make a good 1-2 co-leader kind of thing (Remco and Pelizzari another good 1-2).

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Just watched the WC last 80k again. El Torito rode his cajones off. Sexy should’ve gone with McNutty. He followed IdT around like a hungry puppy all day. It was time for him to go if he could.

Jorgo’s pre McNutty attack with Scarjoni on his wheel was a perfect lob pass to the flying McNutty. MJ really bossed that mob.

Crime Dog is amazing. I think he just doesn’t like riding with people and will probably do solo unsupported rides across Mongolia when he retires.

So much good stuff to watch. Great winter trainer material.

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Remco reeling back in Ciccone today was darn impressive.

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I couldn’t tell if Ciccone tied up or if Remco timed it perfectly. Either way, Ciccone lost that on the bike throw as Remco nailed it. Winding last 500m

Remco had a great ride and deserved it. But as much as I try, just can’t root for the guy.

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It’s not that I can’t. But there are so so many more likeable folks, he is way in the back of the bus.

He is such a diva, he crashes and the first thing he does when he stands up, is snap at the police officer trying to help. All Cicone had to do is throw the bike at the line, it didn’t have to be a good throw, a bad throw would have done the job, but somehow he stayed in the saddle.

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You’re looking for things that weren’t there. He told the police officer to turn the bike around. You can’t even hear his voice that close by. I’m not sure if he should have asked her politely if she could please turn the bike around, popped a selfie, throw a kiss and drive on? He’s in a race full of adrenaline (because of his own mistake of course).

Remco gets more hate than he deserves. I didn’t like how forward he is in the beginning (the goat gesture as a junior was just cringe), but the dude backed it up and has won every championship in cycling. He won a grand tour in the same age as Pogacar and Vingegaard. And he’s only 26. He talks about his ambitions and to be honest I wish more athletes would.

On the other side, last night he apologized to the Belgian people and talked about how bad he felt for not winning the world title. He admits when it wasn’t good enough and doesn’t hide in those moments either.

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I mostly agree with everything you’ve said. Remco certainly isn’t perfect and can come across as a diva at times. That said, he is viewed with such scrutiny. I appreciate MOST of his honesty. There are times he should STFU, but I do appreciate how candid he is.

I give some grace
if I were as successful and talented as Remco at that age, I doubt I’d manage the media any better without having many many missteps.

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I appreciate that he’s a competitor and runs hot, and also his apologies to Belgian public. It’s the semi-frequent yelling and gesticulating towards competitors, and even sometimes staff that I don’t respect. As well, his unwillingness multiple times to ride for others, though he has seemed to do that more recently. He’d do well to grow up a little bit and temper his emotions—at least when directed at others.

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It really wasn’t long ago when he was scolding his team staff in public just because he finished second. I do agree that this wasn’t as bad but it might take some time to change how he is perceived by the public eye.

No one can disagree about his palmares, in my view, he is the GOAT of time trials and one of the greatest all around. But as other has suggested, there are a few things that he could improve to help us like him.

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